Caught Staring
by AngelxPhoenix
Summary: Beth goes for a walk in the prison yard. Submission for Summer of Bethyl 2018


**I'm bringing the news a little late, but it's Summer of Bethyl going on right now on Tumblr and I thought I'd join in. This fits somewhere between seasons three and four. Enjoy!**

The sun beating down felt like a physical weight on Beth's shoulders. Some of that was probably Judith's weight as she carried her in her arms, but it was hot out, for sure. Maybe it had something to do with no electricity for air conditioning, but she couldn't remember summer ever being this hot.

She was out for a walk in the yard around the prison, hoping there was a breeze outside that was nonexistent inside the cell block. She wasn't the only one, either; it looked like half of their people were out there as well. A few of them greeted her as she passed, most of them had a smile for Judy, and every last one of them looked like the scorcher was taking its toll.

She passed Rick and Daddy as they were looking over the crops, and Rick took the moment to take his daughter from her, kissing her forehead before going back to his conversation. Beth wiped the sweat from her brow and relaxed her arms gratefully. Judith was getting bigger and while she still wasn't too heavy to hold, carrying her around for any length of time was another matter.

She looked around the yard and it felt peaceful. There were no walkers along the fence, the people from Woodbury were adapting to the rest of the group, they had food and shelter and the work they put into this place was paying off.

It felt like home.

Her eyes fell on a figure sitting apart from everyone else, shaggy hair and broad shoulders enough of a giveaway that she didn't need to see the crossbow in his hands to identify him. By himself, as always, and she had all but decided that was how he preferred it.

His attention was on his bow; she watched as he examined the string and the cables, reaching for a jar of wax and applying it with a few smooth, practiced strokes of his fingers. He lifted the bow to his eyes and checked the sights, then ran his hands over the limbs, and it occurred to Beth as she watched that she'd rarely seen him so relaxed or at ease.

Curiosity kept her watching, snared by the quiet confidence of his motions. He took an allen wrench from the maintenance kit at his side and tightened a few loose parts; of course he wasn't wearing sleeves, and she had a perfect view of his arms, muscles rippling as he twisted the wrench and flexing as he gave the bow a test draw. He made it look so easy, but everything she knew and heard about crossbows told her otherwise.

Strong enough to use that thing? No wonder his arms were so big...

He oiled the trigger and the track before setting the bow aside and moving onto his arrows. No, bolts, she corrected herself, and the work looked even more intricate. All of his focus was intent on the details, running his fingers along the shafts, carefully replacing damaged points and nocks, and going about the delicate work of fletching several of the bolts as though there was nothing else in the world worth the time and care.

If she thought about it, he'd been that way since day one. He dedicated himself to the task at hand with single-minded intent, and though he was hardly the type to brag about his abilities, he rose to each and every challenge put before him.

His hands were deft and capable, stripping off the old vanes and fixing new ones in place, and between those strong arms and those steady hands, that focus and that dedication, she was starting to wonder if there was anything in the world he couldn't do. For their family, there was nothing he wouldn't try, and she didn't have to wonder about that.

He glanced up and looked across the yard, his eyes locking with hers for a nanosecond before she looked away, embarrassed she was staring, embarrassed he caught her doing it, embarrassed to wonder what he was thinking _she_ was thinking about to make her stare in the first place -

"Beth?"

She turned back to her father and Rick, both of them waiting for her to respond. She shuffled her feet awkwardly and cleared her throat before saying, "Sorry, what?"

"Just asking if you're feeling all right," Daddy replied. "You look a little flushed."

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine," she answered. "Just...been in the sun too long."

Rick nodded slightly in agreement, his eyes moving away from her to something - or some _one_ \- in the distance, and good Lord, what was _he_ thinking she was thinking, if he knew who she was staring at? "It's pretty hot out here," he said lightly. "You might wanna find some shade for awhile and take it easy. Judith shouldn't be out in the sun too much."

She nodded, taking the baby from him and walking away, and she swore she could feel their eyes following her. Rick's, Daddy's...

Maybe even Daryl's.


End file.
